My favorite of the bunch was Rococo. I really enjoy all three but for very different reasons. I think based on the criteria for the award, this year the jury actually selected the game that fit the best.

Episode 198 has a good discussion of the identity crisis the Kennerspiel faces, but if we keep in mind the real motivation behind the award is for it to occupy a difficulty spot one notch higher than a SdJ game (a SdJ+), Istanbul stands out clearly as the game best fitting that model.

Another telling sign occurred during the livestream of the awards ceremony. There are videos played for each award highlighting the gameplay. In the case of Concordia and Istanbul these videos were made with fairly young kids (10 year olds I would guess) playing with their parents. Only Rococo featured a table full of adults. I think we can infer from this choice that the jury still wants Kennerspiel games to be playable by many families (just like the SdJ).